After spending two days attending educational sessions and visiting with equipment and service suppliers on the trade show floor, you’ll want to make sure that you schedule time for some networking and relaxation at the IAOM Golf Tournament at the Fox Creek Golf Club on Friday, April 13.

Fox Creek Golf Club, designed by famed designer John LaFoy, is a beautiful Par 62 golf course nestled in the historic city of Smyrna and surrounded by towering Georgia pines.The course features Champion Bermuda grass greens and is a great place to play and practice for golfers of all skill levels and ages. Short on time? Fox Creek’s executive style layout offers a quick round of golf to fit your busy schedule.

All golfers must register in advance for the tournament. Sign up before March 6 and pay $90; after March 6 – $100. Be sure to indicate your handicap or 18-hole average on your reservation form. Team groupings should be sent to Stephen Banks at sbanks@graincraft.com.

Those participating in the Spouse/Guest Program at the Annual Conference & Expo will experience two days of fun and excitement.

Day one will begin at the Renaissance Waverly Atlanta Hotel with a wonderful breakfast buffet. Following breakfast, the group will travel to the Atlanta History Center which features award-winning exhibitions, historic houses and enchanting gardens.

Following the tour guests will enjoy a southern lunch at the Swan Coach House, located on the grounds of the Atlanta History Center. After lunch concludes the group will travel back to the Renaissance Waverly Atlanta Hotel, allowing enough time to get ready for the Allied Trades Event that evening.

On Thursday guests will tour the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, a paradise located in the heart of Atlanta. In addition to the beautiful gardens there are many sculptures and water features to explore. The group will then enjoy lunch at Mary Mac’s Tea House, before returning to the hotel.

IAOM’s Allied Trades welcome the 2018 IAOM Annual Conference & Expo to Sports & Social, located in the new Live! at the Battery area in Atlanta, Georgia.

On Wednesday night, guests can mingle with other IAOM conference goers as you explore the one-of-a-kind sports bar that includes a gaming parlor, 30-foot diagonal high-definition LED screen and social games and activities including skeeball, table tennis, shuffle puck, air hockey and a golf simulator.

There is a pedestrian walkway from the Cobb Galleria Convention Center to the Live! at the Battery area for anyone interested in walking to the event. For those who decide not to take the 15-minute (half-mile) walk from the hotel to Sports & Social, a bus service will provide transportation between the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel and Sports & Social from 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm.

Annual Banquet & Awards Ceremony

IAOM Annual Banquet & Awards Ceremony

IAOM will honor and pay tribute to its award recipients at the Annual Banquet & Awards Ceremony on the final evening of the conference, April 12.

It is sure to be a memorable evening. This year’s celebration will be held at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel.

The evening will start at 6 pm, with a reception. During the reception, the IMEF Silent Auction will close out – so those who are trying to secure the winning bid on one of the amazing items up for auction will need to attend for sure.

The reception will be followed by what promises to be a delicious dinner, prepared by the hotel’s talented chefs with entertainment sponsored by Premier Tech Chronos. The evening will feature a program that includes the passing of the gavel and presentation of IAOM awards.

IAOM’s Annual Banquet & Awards Ceremony is always a highlight of IAOM’s Annual Conference & Expo. Be sure to attend to see who will receive this year’s industry awards.

IMEF Auction

Get your bidding paddles ready: Will you give me a hundred?…SOLD to an IMEF Supporter

Auctions to support the International Milling Education Foundation (IMEF) are planned once again for the annual IAOM Conference & Expo. In 2017, the Silent and Live Auctions promise to be the most talked-about, buzz-generating events of the year – and there’s nothing silent about these auctions!

The Live Auction will take place during the annual banquet and awards ceremony dinner at the 122nd Annual IAOM Conference & Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, on the night of April 12. An auctioneer will be on hand to keep the bidding interesting and make sure everyone has a shot at the fabulous items on the sale block.

This is your chance to bid on once-in-a-lifetime experiences for you and your friends. We should warn you now, the live auctions are both fun and exciting. Possible side effects may include satisfaction, a sense of purpose, exhilaration, elevated heart rate, laughter, giddiness, sore cheeks from smiling, and a sore shoulder from raising your numbered paddle and waving it around frantically trying to outbid that guy over there. Stretching beforehand is a good idea.

How good are you at Heads or Tails? If you win the Heads & Tails game that will be held during the banquet, you will win your choice of any of the Live Auction items prior to the first bid. In order to participate in the Heads or Tails game at the banquet, you will need to purchase a set of beads that will identify you as a PLAYER. The purchase price for one strand of beads is $100 – and only 100 beads will be sold.

Silent AuctionSilent Auction bidding opens on Wednesday, April 11 – auction previews will be sent out prior to the conference – and ends during a countdown rally at the pre-banquet reception. In contrast to our boisterous live auction, our totally silent auction caters to an even stealthier crowd. Our extensive auction catalog is a veritable treasure trove of coveted objects, services, and experiences—with 100 percent of proceeds benefiting IMEF.

The silent auction can be deceptive to the untrained eye. With guests sauntering through the room, writing down bids while enjoying cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, it may seem mellow. But hearts are pounding just as fast here as during the live auction. The bidding period always ends with a white-hot flurry of feverish scribbling. Silent it may be, but dull it is not. Common side effects include squinting, muttering under the breath, writer’s cramp, grinning, and silent fist pumps of victory.

With every dollar you spend helping IMEF, we encourage you to let loose your competitive spirit and generous nature to top that last bid!

Your winning bid (and contribution) ensures that IMEF will be able to continue to inspire leadership and achievement within the milling community!

Proceeds from the Auctions support the learning, knowledge resources and vibrant community provided by the International Milling Education Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) U.S. tax-deductible organization.

Help raise money to support future generations of milling professionals!